The heart breaking reality is that for many of the dogs that enter the Grey Muzzle Canine Hospice Project in the United Kingdom, this will be their very first experience with real love and compassion.

“Each year, approximately 1.5 million shelter animals are euthanized (670,000 dogs and 860,000 cats). The number of dogs and cats euthanized in U.S. shelters annually has declined from approximately 2.6 million in 2011. This decline can be partially explained by an increase in the percentage of animals adopted and an increase in the number of stray animals successfully returned to their owners.” – ASPCA

A large number of those dogs are elderly dogs that have been abandoned or surrendered in their final days.

It is an absolutely devastating and unfair reality, one that Nicola Coyle could not accept. That is why she opened the Grey Muzzle Canine Hospice Project. Her hospice is devoted to those abandoned dogs that have, at most, six months to live. It is in her incredible hospice that these precious animals are spoiled and treated with an incredible amount of compassion and gentleness.

In there final days, these special pups are are celebrated, loved, and given as much affection as they want. They are treated to delicious treats like ice cream cones, steak and fast food. They are given warm, soft beds in a safe home with someone to dote on them.

“It can be an utterly heartbreaking job. But I just can’t bear the thought of them spending their final moments without the love they deserve.” Coyle explained.

“We’ll also take them down to the local pub – it’s really dog-friendly, and they’ll get a steak dinner too. Many have not led a very nice life too, used for breeding or guard dogs, so when they’ve become unwell, they’re not useful anymore and left.” Coyle said about making the rest of their lives as amazing as possible.

Many of the dogs in her hospice come to her when they are very ill, sometimes with as little as a few months left to live. While some manage to defy the odds under her incredible care, there are some that end up only having a few weeks with her. She aims to make what time they have left as comfortable, fun, and enjoyable as possible!

“The longest I had one is one year, the shortest was two weeks. It’s so rewarding when you can make those times special. I don’t know when their birthdays are, so we throw all of them a birthday party.” Coyle stated.

See the amazing video at the bottom of this article!

Dogs are amazing. They are selfless, and they are so devoted to their beloved families. This well known fact was once again proven when a young pit bull literally saved her family from a devastating fire in their Stockton apartment complex!

A courageous dog named Sasha alerted her family, a mother and her baby daughter, to a fire rapidly spreading through their California apartment home. It was the incredible pit bull pup that physically pulled baby Masailah to safety!

7-month old baby Masailah was put to sleep by her mother Nana Chai, who then began getting ready for bed herself. Chai heard Sasha scratching and sounding absolutely frantic near the back of their home.

“I thought, ‘What the heck is wrong with her? That’s just not her,'” Nana Chai told InsideEdition.com. “Usually she struts in and goes straight to the couch and lays down… but I opened the back door and she just started barking at me.”

Source: Inside Edition Youtube

Trying to figure out what was going on, Chai looked outside to see thick, black smoke rising ominously from a neighboring apartment. Chai's maternal instincts were watered down by the sheer shock of the moment, unable to believe that what she was seeing was real!

The family's beloved 8-month old dog then raced upstairs towards baby Masailah's bedroom, with her frantic mother trailing behind their furry best friend, to rescue their baby girl from the impending danger.

Source: Inside Edition Youtube

Chai shared that her courageous puppy grabbed the bottom part of Masailah's diaper and began trying to pull her to safety. It was then that the mother grabbed both her baby daughter and Sasha the dog, and raced them outside. Once both dog and baby were safely away from the danger, Chai quickly called 911 then tried alerting her neighbors to the fire.

Before she could react, Sasha ran BACK INSIDE to confront danger once again in the name of heroism! Chai explained that she believes Sasha went searching for her other two children.

“They weren’t home, they were visiting their dad at the time, but Sasha didn’t know that. I was screaming for her, ‘Come back!'”

Firefighters arrived quite quickly to battle with the growing fire, fighting to extinguish it despite the fire raging out of control within the complex. Chai pleaded with the firefighters to find her dog, but Sasha was no where to be found.

When the fire was finally extinguished, Chai ran back into their home to find her beloved hero dog. She began to cry when she found Sasha hiding in their kid's favorite hide and seek hiding spot - a place they loved to hide out in. Chai hugged her beloved Sasha, kissing her beautiful face, so grateful Sasha was okay!

“My kids love to play high and seek and that’s their hiding spot. She was in their hiding spot. When I found her, I started crying, I hugged her, I kissed her; I was so emotional.”

Source: Inside Edition Youtube

Unfortunately their apartment was heavily damaged, and they would be unable to return their for at least a year. On top of that, Sasha's littermate HP went missing. The family is still hoping someone will return him!

At the end of the day, the family is extremely grateful to their beautiful pit bull Sasha for saving them and protecting their precious baby Masailah.

Mike Cantu and his amazing service dog Toli are not only best friends, they are an amazing team! These two are inseparable. Toli stays dutifully by his owner’s side. Service Dog Toli helps him with tasks around their home, and accompanies Mike wherever he goes. Toli provides life improving assistance that gives Mike more independence!

“He’s been with me every step of the way since I got him,” Cantu told The Dodo. “He helps me open doors and drawers, turn on/off lights, picks up things I drop, etc.”

Source: @mikecantu7 on Instagram

The impact Toli has on Mike’s life is incredible, and because of that Mike wanted to make Toli’s birthday extra special. Nothing says “thank you, my friend” quite like a brand new toy! Toli has a specific preference for the toys that he loves, so Mike decided to let him pick out his own birthday present!

“This has kinda become a tradition on his birthday,” Mike said. “He loves taking naps and cuddling with his toys.”

Service Dog goes on a special birthday shopping spree!

When they arrived at the pet store, Mike let Toli browse the aisles until he found the perfect toy. A soft, fluffy rabbit toy they later named “Chungus”. Cantu revealed that Toli likes to bring Chungus everywhere he can!

This beautiful occasion was recorded on camera, and quickly went viral on reddit! Everyone loved watching this very special Service Dog’s cherished birthday moment!

Service Dogs are important, hard working animals that provide a vital service to their disabled handlers. Please remember to give a service dog team space when you see them in public. Distracting a service dog by touching, talking, or staring at the dog can impact their job – so let’s respect hard working service animals by admiring them quietly from a distance!

Toli is such an amazing service dog, he absolutely deserves his special birthday treat. If you want to see Toli’s awesome shopping spree, you can check out their video below!

One of the most powerful bonds between human and animal is the friendship that sparks between someone in the military and the dog they've been paired with for a deployment!

Vance McFarland and Ikar deployed to Afghanistan in January 2012, where they served their deployment together as a explosive detection K9 team. Ikar is a Czech working line German Shepherd Dog that has been specially trained in detecting and alerting to roadside bombs (IUDs).

The K9 team came home the following September, but Vance only had a moment to snap a photo with his best friend before K9 Ikar was taken away and placed with a private contract company that said they had work for the talented dog. Unfortunately, they did not. K9 Ikar's temporary stay turned into 17 months left in a kennel. The private contract company did not pay the kennel owner, but the kennel owner still took amazing care of Ikar despite the veteran dog being left behind.

Thanks to Mission K9 Rescue and The War Dogs Association, Ikar and 10 other military dogs found their way back to the soldiers they loved and worked with overseas.

The reunion between Vance and Ikar was incredibly beautiful. At 5 years old, Ikar was about to embark on a joyful journey with his favorite person, and leave the military life behind. A relaxing and fun life with his handler Vance is definitely the retirement Ikar deserves! These two have a lot of fun adventures planned, but most importantly... Ikar gets to live out his life in a loving forever home.

"He's going to live the rest of his life spoiled. Really spoiled." says Vance McFarland about K9 Ikar.

A beautiful Golden Retriever named Cheddar found himself in a rescue after someone in his first family was diagnosed with cancer, and they became unable to care for their beloved senior dog anymore. This very special Golden boy was desperate for everyone to love him, and gave so much love in return. At nearly 8 years of age, he was welcomed into a loving foster family where he was given all the love, attention and care he was desperately needing!

Cheddar is one of the most friendly, affectionate dogs you will ever meet! He is constantly winning the hearts of everyone who meets him. He brightens the day with his playful vocalizations, his affectionate search for constant attention, and his ability to bring joy to everyone around him. However, everything changed when he met his favorite neighbor!

While out for a walk with his foster mom, Cheddar came across their neighbors sitting outside on their front porch. Cheddar’s foster mom stopped for a chat, and this first interaction led to Cheddar falling in love with his new neighbor Jean! Cheddar enthusiastically introduced himself to the senior couple, and the rest is history! Now, Cheddar visits his favorite neighbor Jean every single day!

The two have a remarkable bond that was instantaneous! Cheddar never misses a day taking his leash in his gentle mouth and walking over to visit his amazing Auntie Jean. Jean always has some delicious cookies for her best friend. The two are inseparable, their friendship is so incredibly heart warming! He loves to make himself right at home with Jean, and get some quality snuggle time in before heading back home.

The following video is a beautiful tribute to this incredibly special dog and his heart warming friendship with Auntie Jean. You won’t believe how much love this big Golden boy has in his heart for people.

Have you ever seen a Labrador ride the bus by herself? Seattle is home to a very special dog named Eclipse, who rides the bus every day to take herself to the park! All the bus drivers know Eclipse, because she is their favorite regular! Even the other passengers adore this clever pup, who will snuggle up with anyone looking for some puppy love on their bus ride!

If you ever ride a bus in Seattle, you may just find this beautiful Dog beside you on her way to the park!

Eclipse gets on the bus near her home, then sits patiently through FIVE stops until she reaches her destination - her favorite dog park! We can hardly believe she does this amazing bus journey all by herself, but it absolutely proves how intelligent dogs are. Labradors are known for being a smart, active breed. Eclipse definitely fits the stereotype!

Image Credit: King County Dept. of Transportation

King County allows dogs on buses at the discretion of the bus driver, and since Eclipse is such a warm and loving presence on the bus, nobody minds sharing their ride with her! Truth be told, this brilliant Labrador is much better behaved than some passengers that get onboard. She is cherished by the city of Seattle, and is always welcome to hitch a ride to the dog park whenever her heart desires.

Most of the time her owner Jeff Young rides the bus with her, but sometimes she takes off and does it entirely by herself! Nobody minds, though, because Eclipse is such a gentle soul with a heart of gold. She is polite, well behaved, and safe around people, children and other dogs!

There is something deeply magical and liberating about taking your dog (or pack of dogs) out on a long nature walk. Dog lovers Jc and Victoria know exactly how to live it up with their beautiful rescue dogs, Kimarhi, Tidus and Yuna! The Husky Squad is one of Youtube’s very best channels dedicated to life with dogs.

A walk in nature with your dogs is an enriching, relaxing, revitalizing experience! It is so good for the pups, and can be very therapeutic for all involved. Hiking is the ideal exercise for all breeds of dogs, but especially active working breeds like Siberian Huskies!

Siberian Huskies love to explore the wilderness!

This beautiful pack of Siberian Huskies and their loving humans have devoted their lives to exploration, adventure and providing enriching exercise for their dogs. It is no surprise that they chose this beautiful location for their next big camping and hiking adventure!

“We’re back in Cape Perpetua and this time we came prepared for the rain! We pitched a rain tarp for the first time ever, and it was a bit tricky to tighten the lines and tie knots, but we figured it out! The one-pot-wonders we cooked up and shared with the Squad were UHHMAAZZZING! And the scenery in the 11 miles and 3 trails we hiked near the Cape Perpetua campground was spectacular!” - Husky Squad

Victoria and Jc are inspiring pet parents across the globe to get out and take their beloved canine family members on an adventure, while helping teach others about all natural health care and feeding. They are truly an inspiration!Their lifestyle is absolutely inspiring, and their videos are beyond beautiful and deeply magical.

The Husky Squad Youtube channel is full of beautiful and awe-inspiring adventures, helpful tips, informative life hacks for dogs and so much more. Check out this fantastic adventure in the video below – you won’t be disappointed!

Instagram is an amazing little pocket world, full of the most awe-inspiring and creative photographs. I know I am not alone when I say I can spend hours browsing my Insta-feed! I may be a little biased, but I think all of my fellow dog lovers can agree that the dogs of Instagram are by far the best part of the app!

I went within the community to dig up some of the most beautiful dogs I could find, and asked fellow canine Instagrammers which Instadogs they were currently drooling over! This list is by no means exclusive - if it were, it would include every single dog on planet Earth!

I hope you enjoy this glimpse into some of the incredible beauty and passion of dogs on Instagram! I encourage you to follow these wonderful dogs, I am certain you won't regret it!

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Consult with your veterinarian before applying any of the information contained within this website, its blog, or via consultations. K9 Instinct recommends involving your veterinarian in any plans to utilize the information provided by K9 Instinct, and cannot be held accountable for any damages incurred by the use or misuse of any information provided by K9 Instinct. The guidance of your veterinarian is strongly recommended!